{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,6]],"date-time":"2026-02-06T15:59:38Z","timestamp":1770393578051,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":27,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,6]],"date-time":"2026-02-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1770336000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Vet. Sci."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The intervertebral disc herniation (IVDH) is one of the most common causes of spinal injury in dogs. Certain breeds, notably chondrodystrophic dogs, are predisposed to severe thoracolumbar IVDH due to anatomical and genetic factors.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This study applied three dimensional (3D) volumetric imaging analysis to compare the spinal canal volume and to investigate the relationship between canal volume and neurological symptoms severity. We retrospectively analyzed 21 dogs (7 Bichon Fris\u00e9, 7 Dachshund and 7 French Bulldogs) with imaging confirmed thoracolumbar disc herniation. Computed tomography (CT) scans were segmented using 3D Slicer to quantify the bony spinal canal volume from the cranial to caudal end of the vertebral column.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results and discussions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      French Bulldogs showed a significantly larger mean spinal canal volume than those of Dachshunds and Bichons (\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.05 for both comparisons). Across all dogs, smaller canal volumes were associated with more severe neurological deficits (Spearman\n                      <jats:italic>\u03c1<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f\u2248\u202f\u22120.72,\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f0.0014). Across all breeds, disc herniations were most frequently observed at the thoracolumbar junction (T12\u2013L2; 5 of 21 cases), but substantial overlap existed with neighboring segments. The thoracolumbar junction is especially susceptible to disc herniation because it is a transition zone between the rigid thoracic spine and the mobile lumbar spine, where mechanical stress is concentrated and spinal canal reserve space is limited. The 3D volumetric analysis of the vertebral canal is a feasible adjunct to routine imaging and reveals significant breed specific differences. Narrower canal volume appears to exacerbate the impact of disc herniation on the spinal cord, suggesting that canal size is a contributing risk factor for neurologic severity. A critical volume threshold (~1,700\u202fmm\n                      <jats:sup>3<\/jats:sup>\n                      per vertebral segment) was observed, under which dogs were markedly more likely to develop severe deficits.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fvets.2026.1766999","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,6]],"date-time":"2026-02-06T05:21:57Z","timestamp":1770355317000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["3D CT volumetric analysis of spinal canal volume in Bichon Fris\u00e9, Dachshund, and French Bulldog: correlation with neurologic severity in thoracolumbar disc herniation"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Ionu\u021b Claudiu","family":"Voicule\u021b","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinical Science Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine","place":["Cluj-Napoca, Romania"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Robert Cristian","family":"Purdoiu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinical Science Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine","place":["Cluj-Napoca, Romania"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Radu","family":"L\u0103c\u0103tu\u0219","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinical Science Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine","place":["Cluj-Napoca, Romania"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Felix Daniel","family":"Lucaci","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinical Science Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine","place":["Cluj-Napoca, Romania"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Teodora Sonia","family":"Patrichi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinical Science Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine","place":["Cluj-Napoca, Romania"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Istv\u00e1n","family":"Farkas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinical Science Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine","place":["Cluj-Napoca, Romania"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Florin Ioan","family":"Beteg","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinical Science Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine","place":["Cluj-Napoca, Romania"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"George","family":"Tudor","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Assisi Veterinary Clinic","place":["Dublin, Ireland"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Sorin Marian","family":"M\u00e2rza","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinical Science Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine","place":["Cluj-Napoca, Romania"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,6]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1030","DOI":"10.3390\/ani14071030","article-title":"Morphometric evaluation of thoracolumbar Spinal Canal and cord by magnetic resonance imaging in Normal small-breed dogs","volume":"14","author":"Choi","year":"2024","journal-title":"Animals"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"293","DOI":"10.1016\/0093-691X(76)90021-2","article-title":"Canine intervertebral disc disease \u2014 occurrence by age, breed, and sex among 8,117 cases","volume":"6","author":"Priester","year":"1976","journal-title":"Theriogenology"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"28","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1532-950X.2009.00559.x","article-title":"Agreement and repeatability of linear vertebral body and canal measurements using computed tomography (CT) and low field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)","volume":"39","author":"De Decker","year":"2010","journal-title":"Vet Surg"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"588338","DOI":"10.3389\/fvets.2020.588338","article-title":"Diagnostic imaging in intervertebral disc disease","volume":"7","author":"Da Costa","year":"2020","journal-title":"Front Vet 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prevalence of owner-reported Interverte-bral disc disease: 43,517 companion dogs in the United States","volume":"263","author":"Wee","year":"2025","journal-title":"J Am Vet Med Assoc"},{"key":"ref18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"435","DOI":"10.3390\/genes10060435","article-title":"Phenotypic effects of FGF4 retrogenes on intervertebral disc disease in dogs","volume":"10","author":"Batcher","year":"2019","journal-title":"Genes"},{"key":"ref19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1601","DOI":"10.2460\/ajvr.67.9.1601","article-title":"Morphologic and morphometric magnetic resonance imaging features of Doberman pinschers with and without clinical signs of cervical spondylomyelopathy","volume":"67","author":"Da Costa","year":"2006","journal-title":"Am J Vet Res"},{"key":"ref20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"523","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1740-8261.2006.00180.x","article-title":"Comparison of magnetic resonance imaging and myelography in 18 Doberman pinscher dogs 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canal measurements in normal dogs","volume":"43","author":"Hecht","year":"2014","journal-title":"Anat Histol Embryol"},{"key":"ref27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"169","DOI":"10.2754\/avb202493020169","article-title":"Relationship between the severity of neurological signs in dogs with thoracolumbar intervertebral disc disease and the magnitude of spinal cord compression by disc extrusion as assessed by computed tomography","volume":"93","author":"Sta\u0148kov\u00e1","year":"2024","journal-title":"Acta Vet Brno"}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Veterinary 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